


viral

by never_bloom_again



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Spencer Reid, Insecurity, Team as Family, YouTube, spencer reid is on youtube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27365095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/never_bloom_again/pseuds/never_bloom_again
Summary: Spencer started a youtube channel - it was a nice way to make up for no one else listening to his rambling.
Relationships: Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia & Spencer Reid
Comments: 8
Kudos: 126





	viral

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alighterwood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alighterwood/gifts).



> thank you to @alighterwood for the idea - i loved writing this, and i hope you enjoy it!

It had been Garcia that had caused this, so it would make sense that she was the one to find it first - Spencer was surprised he had gone this long without being found out. 

**ReidTheFacts.** It was far from the most creative name, and very easy to trace back to him, but it was what he had come up with. It was the name under which he had a significant following on YouTube, where he posted videos correcting falsehoods he found, and sharing information.

Garcia had introduced him to the site as a place where he could find new information and learn with just the click of a button, and despite his aversion to technology, and his general preference for learning via books, Spencer was quite taken with it - so much so that he decided to begin to post his own videos.

The channel had started as just somewhere that he could rant into a void, correct things that were bugging him, without anyone being subjected to it, when he knew his friends found it annoying. Spencer never uploaded consistently, nor did he really care about his content all that much - no one was watching it, after all.

That was until one of his videos went, as he had heard Garcia describe similar things, “viral”. Suddenly his little recording of himself, sitting in his lounge room, correcting misconceptions about major scientific discoveries, had been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

What was even more shocking than his sudden mild internet fame, was that people enjoyed his videos, and were interested in what he had to say. They wanted to hear more! When Spencer had read the comments, which were overwhelmingly positive, he had been overjoyed - people cared about what he had to say!

He was tempted to share it with the team, but he figured that they wouldn’t care that much about it - unlike the people viewing, liking and commenting, they were annoyed by his info-dumping the majority of the time (not that he blamed them for that - Spencer was self aware enough to know that he often got side-tracked with irrelevant information at inopportune times, and even when it wasn’t, it could definitely be tedious to listen to someone ramble about something one didn’t care about at all.)

Anyway, he was quite happy with it being his little secret hobby. It was his own little escape from his work, without the pressure or the danger. Making the videos was just fun, and they helped educate people, something Spencer was always happy to help with. 

Thanks to Garcia though, it was no longer so secret. She had been on the internet, according to her recount of finding the channel, and was sent a link by her friend, to a video of a “cute nerd she might like,” and to her surprise, when she followed it, there was her favourite genius.

Of course, then, Garcia’s instincts then led to her sending the link to the rest of the team.

Thankfully, she had the decency to warn him before he came in for work on Monday of the team’s newfound knowledge about him.

“They all think it's super cute! And so do I! I am so glad you have found something that you are passionate about, and your videos are really sweet! But I think that everyone is a bit disappointed you didn’t tell them… So am I! This is awesome! I should have been your number one fan, right from the start!”

Spencer began to zone out as she continued on. He was surprised that they all wanted to know - they, for the most part, paid little attention to the hobbies of others - Derek’s restoration projects weren’t often mentioned, nor was whatever language Emily was learning, or Hotch’s gardening (not that their boss would often let them indulge in that topic of conversation, regardless.)

Along with their general distaste for his info-dumping, it came as a shock. What was even more of a shock was that on Monday, they were curious about it, inviting him to converse with them, encouraging him to speak. They were treating him as though he was some precious commodity, and Spencer couldn’t help but think it could have been caused by their discovery of his recent fame.

It wasn’t until later, when he was at lunch with Derek that he got the chance to ask.

“You seem more interested in speaking to me? What happened? Is it because of my channel?”

Derek faltered for a moment, taken aback by the question.

“Well, yeah, in a way, Pretty Boy. I think it’s super cool that you talk like that on the internet, and all of us just want you to know that you can be like that with us - just maybe not when it’s time sensitive.”

It was Spencer’s turn to be shocked, a happy kind though, because he hadn’t expected that. It hadn’t occurred to him, that maybe if it occurred at the right time, then maybe the team wouldn’t mind listening to him, or dare he consider it, even enjoy it.

That knowledge opened up a world of opportunities, including some special appearances on his channel, from people who had been dubbed by his fans to be “the hottest team of Feds ever”. Spencer smiled more, from then on. It was nice to share, both his hobbies and his facts.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! please let me know what you think, it makes me super happy!  
> also, come chat and leave prompts @abitcriminalminds on tumblr!


End file.
